Fantasy Baseball Reliever Roundup

Welcome to the RP Roundup, my daily fantasy baseball article reviewing every reliever performance from the previous day.

KCR 1 – CLE 2

Kansas City Royals
Daniel Lynch IV	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	5 Whiffs	46% CSW
Nick Mears	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
John Schreiber (L)	0.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	5% CSW

Nick Mears should have a bigger role, especially considering the role John Schreiber is currently in. Mears only faced lefties in this one, but his changeup looked great here.

Cleveland Guardians
Tim Herrin	0.1 IP	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	27% CSW
Erik Sabrowski	1.0 IP	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	40% CSW
Shawn Armstrong	1.0 IP	2 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	24% CSW
Cade Smith (W)	1.0 IP	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW

Erik Sabrowski is just so good, it’s legit high-end closer stuff with his fastball/curveball combo. The fastball was near 95 MPH in this one with 21.5″ iVB and almost 7′ of extension.
Cade Smith’s fastball was down over 3 MPH, but we can probably attribute that to the cold in Cleveland (fellow Canadian Sabrowski was actually throwing harder today, though). It didn’t even matter as his sweeper and splitter were on.

BAL 4 – CHW 2

Baltimore Orioles
Yennier Cano (W)	1.0 IP	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	50% CSW
Grant Wolfram (HLD)	0.2 IP	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	38% CSW
Anthony Nunez (HLD)	0.1 IP	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW
Ryan Helsley (SV)	1.0 IP	1 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	44% CSW

Ryan Helsley didn’t have his best command yesterday (it was actually really bad), but he made it through the bottom of the White Sox lineup. His velo was down over 2 MPH as well, but again, it was very cold in Chicago, and he was also pitching on back-to-back days.

Chicago White Sox
Sean Newcomb	1.1 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	15% CSW
Jordan Leasure (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW
Jordan Hicks (L)	1.1 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	39% CSW
Chris Murphy	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	15% CSW
Bryan Hudson	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW

It was nice to get a hold from Jordan Leasure before things turned sour for the White Sox. He has some of his best stuff in this one, and hopefully, he can find some sort of consistency moving forward.

ARI 3 – NYM 4

Arizona Diamondbacks
Ryan Thompson (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	12% CSW
Juan Morillo (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW
Jonathan Loáisiga (BS)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Kevin Ginkel	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	25% CSW
Paul Sewald (L)	0.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 K	2 Whiffs	33% CSW

It’s hard to read too much into pitching performances from this game, as the Citi Field wind tunnel was in full effect, so every pitch graded out as elite. Even Kevin Ginkel finished with B stuff here.

New York Mets
Huascar Brazobán	0.1 IP	2 H	0 K	2 Whiffs	29% CSW
Luis García Jr.	2.0 IP	1 H	0 K	2 Whiffs	30% CSW
Brooks Raley	1.0 IP	1 H	2 K	2 Whiffs	35% CSW
Devin Williams	1.0 IP	2 H	2 K	4 Whiffs	38% CSW
Luke Weaver (W)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 K	2 Whiffs	31% CSW

Same thing here. Devin Williams has a great changeup, but it doesn’t usually have 27″ of horizontal break, and Brooks Raley even had a sweeper that allegedly had 35″ of horizontal break? Williams allowed two bloop hits here, nothing to be worried about.

SDP 1 – PIT 7

San Diego Padres
Bradgley Rodriguez	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	26% CSW
Wandy Peralta	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	31% CSW
Adrian Morejon	0.1 IP	4 ER	5 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	35% CSW
Ron Marinaccio	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW

What is going on with Adrian Morejon right now? This was like the ultimate Singled Out outing as the first four hits were opposite-field singles, with the fifth being a single pulled by Konnor Griffin. The stuff still looks good; there were a lot of pitches over the heart of the plate here, though. He should be ok moving forward, but also remember he’s not a big swing and miss guy, so bad luck like this will happen time to time (perhaps more so this year than last).

Pittsburgh Pirates
Isaac Mattson (HLD)	0.2 IP	1 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	11% CSW
Gregory Soto (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
Yohan Ramírez	1.0 IP	0 H	2 K	4 Whiffs	58% CSW

Gregory Soto got the eighth here, which means we were probably going to see Dennis Santana in the ninth if the Pirates didn’t score four runs in the bottom of the eighth. That sweeper keeps dominating for Soto.

CHC 9 – TBR 2

Chicago Cubs
Hoby Milner	1.1 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	12% CSW
Phil Maton	0.2 IP	2 ER	3 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	19% CSW
Caleb Thielbar	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW
Jacob Webb	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	36% CSW

Phil Maton is still down 2 MPH on his cutter/fastball, and he’s also not locating it where he needs to. The breakers are great, but he needs that cutter as his primary fastball to be better.

Tampa Bay Rays
Cole Sulser	2.1 IP	1 ER	3 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	27% CSW
Yoendrys Gómez	3.0 IP	4 ER	6 H	1 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	19% CSW

Love the Cole Sulser four-seam/changeup duo, but it would be nice to see something better to get right-handed hitters out.

CIN 6 – MIA 3

Cincinnati Reds
Pierce Johnson	0.2 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	43% CSW
Jose Franco	2.0 IP	0 H	2 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW
Emilio Pagán (W)	1.0 IP	0 H	2 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	17% CSW
Graham Ashcraft	1.0 IP	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW

Emilio Pagán continues to fight his command, and he only threw 2 of his 24 pitches in the zone here (3 were on the edges, 19 were not near the zone). He’s been heavily used so far, and could maybe use a few days off.

Miami Marlins
Anthony Bender (BS)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	1 K	0 Whiffs	29% CSW
Calvin Faucher (L)	0.1 IP	3 ER	2 H	2 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	29% CSW
John King	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW

The Marlins botched this game, taking Sandy Alcantara in the ninth, and I thought they should have gone to Calvin Faucher in the ninth if they were making any move. Based on how Faucher looked in the tenth, that probably wouldn’t have changed anything. I still have faith in both Faucher and Anthony Bender, so a rough night here.

STL 7 – WSN 6

St. Louis Cardinals
Gordon Graceffo	2.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	29% CSW
George Soriano (W)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	40% CSW
Riley O’Brien (SV)	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	50% CSW

This was the best George Soriano has looked in some time, as he was able to locate all three of his pitches and mixed and matched them well. The fastball can still be vulnerable, but this Cardinals team needs another bullpen arm to trust.
Riley O’Brien is not known for his command, and he didn’t have it here, but I think throwing the slider and sweeper more will ultimately help him, especially to get more swing and miss. So I’m excited about this closer version of O’Brien throwing 6 sinkers and 10 breakers. Keep that going, please.

Washington Nationals
Paxton Schultz	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	35% CSW
PJ Poulin (HLD)	1.1 IP	1 ER	1 H	2 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	30% CSW
Gus Varland (BS)	1.0 IP	2 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	27% CSW
Clayton Beeter	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW
Cole Henry (L)	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	31% CSW

This Gus Varland outing was strange and ultimately annoying because I do think he can be this team’s 7th or 8th inning setup man. He threw 22 pitches here, 20 of which were sliders? At one point, he threw 16 straight sliders. He should be a 50/50 split type guy, so this was weird, and maybe he just wasn’t feeling his fastball (it was down 2 MPH, and he didn’t locate the two he threw), but this was unfortunate nonetheless.
There’s the Clayton Beeter we had been expecting (A+ stuff, F locations). The command wasn’t actually that bad, and he was actually in the zone with half of his pitches; this isn’t too concerning.

MIL 2 – BOS 3

Milwaukee Brewers
DL Hall	2.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	28% CSW
Jake Woodford	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW

DL Hall is still working with a starter’s repertoire, and it’s a pretty good mix, maybe even better than what Aaron Ashby is working with right now? It wouldn’t be too surprising if those two have switched roles by the end of the year.

Boston Red Sox
Zack Kelly (HLD)	0.2 IP	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW
Garrett Whitlock (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 BB	1 K	4 Whiffs	33% CSW
Aroldis Chapman (SV)	1.0 IP	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	0% CSW

A much-needed bounce-back outing from Garrett Whitlock here. The velo is still down under 94 MPH, but he located better today.
Again, it’s early in the season, and it’s cold in Boston, but Aroldis Chapman threw six fastballs here, averaging just 93.9 MPH, which is crazy low for him (and why he generated 0 Whiffs or Called Strikes). Two pitches were middle of the plate, and the other four were not close. Not going to put much into a six-pitch outing, but it’s something to monitor.

ATH 3 – NYY 5

Athletics
Justin Sterner (HLD)	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 K	4 Whiffs	26% CSW
Mark Leiter Jr. Jr. (L)	0.2 IP	4 ER	4 H	0 K	2 Whiffs	18% CSW
Joel Kuhnel	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 K	0 Whiffs	20% CSW

Mark Leiter Jr. Jr. did not get his revenge on the Yankees for non-tendering him this offseason, and I think it’s about time the Athletics stop trusting him as well.

New York Yankees
Jake Bird	0.2 IP	1 H	0 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	60% CSW
Brent Headrick	1.0 IP	0 H	2 BB	3 K	7 Whiffs	45% CSW
Fernando Cruz (W)	1.1 IP	0 H	2 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	30% CSW
David Bednar (SV)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	36% CSW

We still haven’t seen the best David Bednar yet, but the fastball command was better today. The curveball is still a mystery, though. It’s down right now, and he left a couple over the middle of the plate last night that probably should have been damaged (Nick Kurtz just missed one to fly out to end the game).

LAD 4 – TOR 1

Los Angeles Dodgers
Alex Vesia (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	1 K	3 Whiffs	33% CSW
Blake Treinen (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	30% CSW
Edwin Díaz (SV)	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	3 K	4 Whiffs	39% CSW

Not the best command from Edwin Díaz here, but his stuff is looking better each outing, it feels.

Toronto Blue Jays
Mason Fluharty	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	2 Whiffs	20% CSW
Louis Varland	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	26% CSW
Jeff Hoffman	1.0 IP	1 ER	2 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	50% CSW

Bit of a shaky outing for Jeff Hoffman, although the walk was intentional (Ohtani), and the Freeland “single” to start everything should have been an out, but somehow a ground ball to the first baseman wound up being thrown into right field. Hoffman will be fine, nothing to worry about here.

DET 2 – MIN 4

Detroit Tigers
Tyler Holton	1.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW
Connor Seabold	2.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	1 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	26% CSW

Tyler Holton throwing six different pitches over a 16-pitch outing, as is usual for him. Only one hold for him so far, but that should change soon.

Minnesota Twins
Taylor Rogers (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	0 BB	2 K	1 Whiffs	33% CSW
Cole Sands (HLD)	0.1 IP	0 ER	0 H	2 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	8% CSW
Eric Orze (HLD)	0.2 IP	1 ER	2 H	0 BB	2 K	4 Whiffs	32% CSW
Justin Topa (SV)	0.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	1 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	29% CSW

I was hoping to see Eric Orze finish things off in the ninth, but it can be tough for someone so splitter-dependent to be reliable. He’s sacrificed some velocity on his four-seamer for better shape, and I’d like to see him get closer to a 50/50 split or at least a 60/40 split and really limit that slider as a third every now and then, offering to righties. He’s this bullpen’s only hope at the moment.

SEA 2 – TEX 3

Texas Rangers
Jacob Latz (HLD)	2.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	35% CSW
Jakob Junis (SV)	1.0 IP	0 ER	2 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW

Back-to-back saves for Jakob Junis, who was able to generate a whiff in this one. Yeah, he has the worst stuff in this bullpen (him or Tyler Alexander), but right now he’s commanding his pitches and doesn’t allow any free baserunners, so it will just come down to how much BABIP luck he will get on a night-to-night basis.

HOU 1 – COL 5

Houston Astros
Steven Okert	1.0 IP	1 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	31% CSW
Kai-Wei Teng	0.2 IP	1 ER	1 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	43% CSW
Christian Roa	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	1 K	1 Whiffs	20% CSW

Steven Okert hasn’t looked like the same guy we saw last year. We always knew the fastball would be questionable at best, but the slider is supposed to be elite, and it hasn’t looked that way so far this season. It could come around (also, Coors messes with these things), but it’s also telling based on his usage that the Astros aren’t exactly expecting a repeat of 2025.

Colorado Rockies
Antonio Senzatela (SV)	2.2 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	3 K	3 Whiffs	31% CSW

Antonio Senzatela commanded his five pitches to get the last 8 outs of this one while not allowing a baserunner. This isn’t something to get behind yet.

ATL 7 – LAA 2

Atlanta Braves
Tyler Kinley (W)	0.2 IP	1 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	43% CSW
Dylan Lee (HLD)	0.2 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	22% CSW
Robert Suarez (HLD)	1.0 IP	0 H	1 BB	2 K	3 Whiffs	23% CSW
Aaron Bummer (HLD)	0.1 IP	0 H	1 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	18% CSW
Raisel Iglesias (SV)	1.2 IP	2 H	0 BB	3 K	7 Whiffs	45% CSW

22 pitches from Raisel Iglesias here and zero sliders again, as he went mostly fastball (15 four-seamers, 2 sinkers) while mixing in some changeups as well. The four-seamer seems to be carrying him again, but I just have my doubts about this being a long-term answer for Iglesias.

Los Angeles Angels
Shaun Anderson	3.0 IP	3 ER	5 H	1 BB	4 K	7 Whiffs	29% CSW
Mitch Farris	1.0 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	14% CSW

Mitch Farris is a new lefty in the Angels pen, and well, there’s not much to see here.

PHI 0 – SFG 6

Philadelphia Phillies
Zach Pop	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	0 K	0 Whiffs	8% CSW
Tanner Banks	1.0 IP	0 H	0 BB	2 K	5 Whiffs	39% CSW
Orion Kerkering	1.0 IP	1 H	1 BB	0 K	2 Whiffs	27% CSW

Welcome back Orion Kerkering, who was rusty here but ultimately looked OK. The fastballs are down in velo a bit, but ultimately still like the long-term outlook for Kerkering as a sweeper/four-seamer guy.

San Francisco Giants
Ryan Walker (HLD)	1.1 IP	0 ER	1 H	1 BB	1 K	2 Whiffs	32% CSW
Keaton Winn	1.0 IP	0 ER	0 H	0 BB	0 K	1 Whiffs	27% CSW

We saw Ryan Walker come in right after Robbie Ray exited the game again, so it looks like he is indeed the team’s closer about 80% of the time (actually less because he won’t be available every day). Not ideal, but I’m not sure we should have expected Walker to be the team’s full-time closer to begin with.

If you’re looking for potential relievers to stream today, check out RP Streamers

Also, if you’re looking for the detailed list or ranking of Relievers, check out my weekly RP Ranks

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Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 4/7

Rick Graham